Nina said, “After I looked up some information on Dr. Dawson, I told Mylas I thought he might be the person who’d sent him the anonymous letter about the judge.”
Lockett gestured toward me. “Is that what happened? Did Dawson admit he was the person who sent you the letter?”
“No, that’s not what happened.”
Nina made a pouty face. “Okay, I guess I lost that bet.”
* * * *
Instead of summarizing my visit with Dawson, I repeated our conversation more or less verbatim, even though it took me a good ten minutes to do so.
Lockett interrupted me once to comment on Dawson’s attitude toward Judge Woodard, but after that, both Nina and Lockett sat in stunned silence as I went over what he’d told me about Judge Woodard and his frequent visits to the casinos in Vegas where he posed as Jonathan Means.
However, when I began describing how Lizzie had asked her hacker friend to get into Woodard’s bank account and look for any recent loans he’d taken out, Nina shook her head and said, “Lizzie should not be associating with those kinds of people.”
I thought that was a little disingenuous coming from Nina, who wasn’t above doing a little hacking herself.
When I mentioned Lizzie had told Dawson she was considering making an appointment to see the judge and confront him about his gambling, Lockett became noticeably agitated.
“Please tell me that didn’t happen,” he said. “Tell me Lizzie didn’t go talk to the judge herself.”
“As far as I know, that didn’t happen. Dr. Dawson told me he advised her to get in touch with the senator instead of speaking with the judge, and when Lizzie met Dawson in the Law Library on Saturday night, she told him that’s what she’d done.”
Lockett looked puzzled. “The senator didn’t mention anything to me about having a conversation with Lizzie about Judge Woodard.”
“That’s one of the reasons I’d like to speak with the senator as soon as possible. Do you think you could arrange a phone call ASAP?”
Lockett said, “I’ll see if he’s available when we finish up here. He’s getting ready to have a short press conference with the media about Lizzie. I suppose you know her disappearance was leaked a little earlier this afternoon?”
I nodded. “Nina told me. Do you have any idea what the senator plans to say to the media about her disappearance?”
“No. Claudia’s working on it now.”
Claudia Dyer was the senator’s press secretary, but I’d probably only spoken to her twice since I’d come to work for the senator.
“Is there something you’d like for the senator to include in his press statement?” Lockett asked.
I hesitated a few seconds. “Ah . . . no, I can’t think of anything right now, but I might change my mind after I’ve talked to him.”
“I’ll have him call you as soon as he’s available.”
“Nathan, before you sign off, shouldn’t we talk about the elephant in the room?” Nina asked.
“Which elephant would that be?” Lockett asked. “I always have a couple of them sitting around my office.”
“I think she means Judge Woodard,” I said.
“Okay, let’s talk about him.”
* * * *
Lockett asked Nina if she’d discovered anything else in the judge’s personal finances that would indicate he had a gambling problem besides the two home improvement loans he’d taken out.
“Well, the judge has also maxed out his credit cards a few times, but he always pays them off the next month. As far as I can tell, that’s about it. There’s nothing wrong with his credit rating.”
“If he’s paying off his maxed-out credit cards the following month,” Lockett said, “then he could be borrowing the money from a family member, maybe even a friend. What do we know about his family?”
“His wife has money of her own and comes from a wealthy family,” I said. “I’m inclined to believe she bails him out when he gets in trouble. Until this thing with Lizzie came up, I had the judge’s wife pegged as the person who’d written me the anonymous letter.”
“That could still be the case,” Lockett said. “We have no evidence Lizzie wrote that letter.”
“And we have no evidence Lizzie’s disappearance has anything to do with Judge Woodard. The whole thing could just be a coincidence.”
“I agree, and since the senator specifically told you to put the judge’s investigation on hold until we get Lizzie’s situation resolved, I doubt if he’ll want you to pursue this right now.”
“Before Lizzie went missing, I’d already decided it was time to have a face-to-face chat with Judge Woodard so I could get his reaction to the contents of the anonymous letter. In fact, in the briefing documents I’d prepared for my lunch meeting with the senator on Tuesday, I’d included that recommendation in my synopsis.”
“For now, I know the senator wants you to concentrate your efforts on finding Lizzie. The last thing on his mind is vetting the judge.”
“In the meantime,” Nina said, “I’ll continue going through the contents of Lizzie’s computer to see if I can find anything related to where she may have gone on Monday.”
“Do you have anything else before I sign off?” Lockett asked.
“No,” I said, “and unless I hear something new, I won’t be getting in touch with you until this time tomorrow evening.”
After Lockett disconnected from the video call, Nina said, “Any last thoughts before I go?”
“Yes, when you start opening the documents on Lizzie’s computer, I’d like for you to confine your search to anything related to Judge Woodard. Look at Lizzie’s notes, interviews, research, whatever. Naturally, if she’s actually written the article on him, I want to see it.”
“Didn’t I hear you tell Nathan her interest in the judge probably isn’t related to her disappearance?”
“It may not be related, but the timing is highly suspicious. I see a red flag waving at me out there on the horizon, and I can’t ignore it.”
“No, you can never ignore a red flag.”
* * * *
I didn’t think Nina’s comment was meant generically. Instead, I had a feeling it was directed at me specifically.
She knew I had a thing about checking out something if a red flag popped up when I was investigating someone.
However, I chose not to comment on her remark, because at that moment, my cell phone began vibrating, and I told her I had to go when I saw the name on my screen.
It was Senator Davis Allen.
“Good afternoon, Senator,” I said. “Thanks for calling me.”
“Of course, Mylas. My schedule’s packed today, but I’m anxious to speak with you about Lizzie. Update me on your investigation.”
Whenever I updated the senator on an investigation, I never got into the nuts and bolts of the process, and I seldom provided him with any details of how I was able to obtain information on a nominee.
My objective in sticking to generalities was to give the senator some deniability if a journalist questioned him about a judicial nominee, or if he were invited to make an appearance on one of the talk shows where he might be tempted to prove how knowledgeable he was by saying something previously unknown about a nominee.
“I don’t know how much Nathan told you, Senator, but I’m coordinating—”
“Nathan didn’t tell me anything.”
“Okay, well, here’s where we are at the moment. I’m coordinating my investigation with the local police, and they’re using all their available resources to locate Lizzie. Right now, they’re checking out a report a black Lexus was spotted in Centralia on Monday, and I expect to hear back from them as soon as they know something.”
“Do you have any idea what Lizzie was doing in Centralia?”
“The police don’t know whether—”
“It’s a small town; I can’t begin to imagine why she’d go there.”
“No, sir, me neither and I wouldn’t want to speculate about it unt
il I know for sure it was Lizzie’s vehicle that was seen there.”
“I’ve campaigned in Centralia several times, and I can tell you there aren’t that many luxury cars in town.”
“I’m sure that’s true. I don’t imagine the town has a population of more than five thousand people; maybe even less.”
“Did you check out her boyfriend?”
I spent a few minutes giving the senator an abbreviated version of my visit with Gus. However, I left out any personal details he’d shared with me about his relationship with Lizzie, and I emphasized Gus seemed as concerned about Lizzie as the rest of us.
When I mentioned Lizzie hadn’t said anything to Gus about leaving town on Monday, he said, “Well, that surprises me. On the other hand, maybe I should have told you Lizzie likes to keep secrets, especially if she’s engaged in something a little foolhardy.”
“That’s good to know, Senator. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions about the last time you spoke with Lizzie.”
“No, I don’t mind. You know I’ll do anything to help you find my daughter. What would you like to know?”
“Well, first of all, when did that conversation take place?”
“Let’s see, the last time I spoke with Lizzie was about a week ago. I believe it was last Tuesday. Yes, it was October 2, just before my caucus meeting.”
“Did you call her?”
“No, she called me. We hadn’t talked for a couple of weeks. She usually talks to her mother once a week, but with my schedule, we don’t talk that often. Whenever she calls me, it’s usually because she wants to talk about something she’s heard on the news.”
“Is that the reason she called you this time?”
“Yes, she wanted to ask me about the Supreme Court ruling on the immigration question.”
“Is that all you talked about?”
He was quiet for a moment. “No, she also asked me when the vetting for Judge Woodard would be completed.”
“Did her question surprise you?”
“Not at all. She’s been interested in the judge since the President announced his nomination for the Eighth Circuit. I suppose it’s because he’s from Missouri and taught at Mizzou for a while.”
“So, this conversation with Lizzie took place after I received the anonymous letter about the judge. Is that right?”
“That’s right, and, naturally, I didn’t mention the letter, but I did tell her the R & I Group was investigating an allegation about the judge that had come up recently. I believe I also told her I was delaying his hearing a few weeks to give you time to investigate the charges.”
“What was her reaction when you told her about the delay?”
“I don’t recall her having a reaction.”
He was quiet for a moment. “What’s going on, Mylas? I know you’re not just asking me random questions.”
“No, Senator, I’m not, but answer just one more question and then I’ll explain why I’ve been grilling you. Did Lizzie tell you she was writing an article for The Columbian on Judge Woodard?”
“An article on the judge? No, she never mentioned it.” He let out a deep sigh. “Maybe you better give me that explanation now.”
* * * *
I began my explanation by telling the senator I’d met with the managing editor of The Columbian to check on what assignments Lizzie had been working on for the paper.
“Yes, I know Dr. Richards,” the senator said. “He interviewed me during my last campaign. Lizzie told me she really enjoys working with him, and she says he’s very popular with his student journalists.”
“Even though he has to approve their articles, the students pick out their own stories, so I imagine that adds to his popularity. When Lizzie wanted to do a story on Judge Woodard and his connection to the university, he told me he immediately approved the article.”
“That must be why Lizzie was asking me how the vetting process on the judge was coming along.”
“No, sir. I don’t think that’s the reason she asked you that question. I believe she had a different reason, but you may not want to hear it.”
“Of course, I want to hear it, Mylas. That’s why I sent you to Columbia in the first place. Tell me and don’t spare me the details.”
Despite what he said, I gave the senator the condensed version of my meeting with Professor Wes Dawson, although I included the full story of what Dawson had told Lizzie about the law student’s encounter with Judge Woodard in Vegas.
“What you’ve just told me sounds exactly like the contents of the anonymous letter you received,” the senator said. “Do you think the law student could have sent you that letter?”
“No, Senator. I suspect Lizzie sent me the letter.”
“But how could Lizzie have sent you the letter? Didn’t the person indicate they had proof of the judge’s financial situation? Wasn’t there something in there about a loan?”
“That’s correct, sir, but Lizzie was able to obtain that information.”
When I told the senator about Lizzie asking her computer friend to hack into the judge’s banking account, he sounded both angry and concerned. “I can’t believe she did that. What was she thinking?”
“I have no idea. I don’t know Lizzie all that well.”
“Most of the time Lizzie has a level head on her shoulders, but that doesn’t mean she’s averse to taking risks. When she does, it’s usually because she believes someone has been treated unfairly.”
“There’s one additional piece of information you need to know. Lizzie told Dawson she wanted to confront the judge about his gambling addiction. However, Dawson claimed—”
“Lizzie wanted to confront Judge Woodard?”
“That’s right, but Dawson claimed he was able to talk her out of it by urging her to talk to you instead.”
The senator didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds.
“No, Lizzie never talked to me about any of this, and she didn’t mention any plans to go talk to Judge Woodard. You don’t suppose she did that, do you?”
“I don’t know yet, Senator, but whatever she did on Monday, I believe there’s a good possibility it was related to the article she was writing on the judge.”
“Yes, now that I hear she was working on something like this, I think you’re right. When I talked to the police chief this morning, he told me there was nothing to indicate foul play was involved in her disappearance or that she’d been kidnapped.”
“I was told the same thing by the lieutenant in charge of the investigation. He also indicated his department would be monitoring the activity on her credit cards and accessing her phone records.”
“Her phone goes to voice mail right now.”
“Maybe she just went off somewhere so she could write the article without being disturbed.”
“Yes, that could be it.”
He didn’t sound convinced.
Neither was I.
“Any idea where she could have gone if she wanted to be alone? Maybe she went to visit one of your relatives. Or what about your lake house? Could she have gone there?”
“No, we sold our lake house last year. Naturally, my wife’s been in touch with our relatives, but no one’s heard from her. I admit, Mylas, I’m starting to wonder if she could have been kidnapped.”
“That’s understandable, sir.”
His voice sounded a little emotional, so I decided to change the subject. “Nathan told me you’ll be making a statement to the press this evening about Lizzie’s disappearance. Have you spoken to your press secretary about what you plan to say?”
“I told her to emphasize I’m leaving the investigation up to the local authorities, and I don’t believe my daughter is in any danger.”
I wasn’t surprised the senator wanted to downplay his daughter’s disappearance, especially to the press.
When it came to his family, he’d always been careful to keep them out of the spotlight, although I suspected he was simply following the wishes o
f his wife, Nelda, who was seldom seen with him on the campaign trail or at his side during congressional social events.
“Do you plan to take questions from the press after issuing your statement?” I asked.
“Yes, but I’ll probably limit the questions to three; four at the most.”
“I’m sure someone will ask you why you’re not concerned about Lizzie if she hasn’t been in touch with you. I’d like to suggest you say something about the fact she’s been working on a story for The Columbian, but you can’t say any more than that.”
“You mean leave it up in the air? Make it sound like I know more about her disappearance than I really do?”
“That’s right.”
“Why? What good would that do?”
“It might not do any good. On the other hand, if Lizzie’s gotten herself into trouble with some bad actors, your statement might cause them a bit of concern.”
He sounded a little choked up. “Okay, I can do that.”
“That’s all I have for now, Senator. As soon as I get any new information, I’ll contact Nathan.”
“Thanks, Mylas. I knew you were the right person to find Lizzie.”
“I haven’t found her yet.”
“No, but you will.”
I appreciated the Senator’s confidence in me. Unfortunately, I didn’t think I deserved it.
That’s why I called the Kelvin Grey Detective Agency.
Chapter 15
Although my dad usually sent his employees home at five o’clock, he never left the office before six, so I was pretty sure I’d catch him at his desk going over his schedule for the next day.
It was one of his many rituals.
“What’s on your calendar for tomorrow?” I asked when he answered his phone. “Is it going to be a two-egg kind of day or a cereal-only kind of day?”
My question had been a running joke in our family ever since I could remember. If my dad didn’t have much on his calendar for the day, he’d tell my mom it was going to be a two-egg kind of day, and she’d fix him a big breakfast, and they’d linger around the table and talk for a while before he left for the office.
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